Octopus in Commercial Fishing

Octopus in Commercial Fishing

Octopus and Fishing

There are two sides to consider when it comes to Octopus and commercial fishing. Octopus are found in all oceans around the world but what you will capture really depends on the location. With more than 300 species of them identified they are very diverse. Some Octopus are found in shallow waters but the majority of them are several hundred feet below the surface.

It is no secret that Octopus is a very common food item in many parts of the world. It is used to create a variety of dishes, and it is often part of the main course. Yet there are plenty of recipes that allow it to be used for an appetizer or as a side dish too. The versatility of it as well as consumer demand means that plenty of money can be made through commercial fishing for it.

Money To Be Made

The majority of Octopus captured for food takes place in Alaska and along the shores of Japan. There are very large pods used to capture them that are released off the sides of fishing boats. The pods are checked routinely and the capture brought on board. The yield can bring in lots of money for the captain and the crew because there are plenty of locations out there interested in buying Octopus.

In most locations though a permit has to be obtained in order to be able to legally take part in commercial fishing for Octopus. In an effort to ensure that their numbers remain high enough this is controlled. As the demand goes up though the cost of Octopus will continue to get higher and higher. It is a million-dollar annual operation though which is why so many commercial fishing operations do want to be involved with it.

Dangerous Work

The work can be very time consuming as well as extremely dangerous. It isn’t for those that aren’t physically able to handle working long hours in tough conditions. How long a boat will remain on the water before returning to shore depends on the location as well as how much Octopus they have been able to collect.

Developing better operations and equipment have helped to reduce the amount of time it takes to get a great capture of Octopus. It can be hard though to capture only a specific type of it. You have to be very specific about where you will be at in the water.

The Intelligence Of The Octopus Causes Problems

Octopus though can create quite a few problems for commercial fishing when it comes to other types of captures. They are very good at problem-solving so they can actually open up traps for crabs and other types of seafood. This can result in the pods set out by commercial fishermen yielding very little or nothing at all. When they are losing money due to the Octopus they aren’t very happy about it at all.

For the Octopus though this method offers them access to plenty of food without having to really hunt for it. They have excellent memories so once they learn how to open the traps and where they are located they will continue to return to them again and again. That is why trapping them becomes a priority with many of these commercial fishing operations. They need the Octopus to be out of the way so they can keep their volume up.

Unintended Injuries On The Octopuses

Octopus are known to be tangled up in netting and other types of commercial fishing equipment as well. While they aren’t the intended target they can easily drown as they struggle to break free. Their bodies can be severely injured as well so they are no longer able to move around and get prey as they must if they are going to survive.